Run, Walk, Swim: Callan Park’s Tidal Baths Will Officially Open In 2026

Sydney’s Inner West is getting a major park upgrade—and that long-awaited harbour swim spot is still firmly on track.

Sydney's Inner West is getting a major park upgrade, and that long-awaited harbour swim spot is now firmly in motion. Work has officially begun at Callan Park to deliver a new tidal bath and unlock 1.6 hectares of extra green open space in time for summer.

For the millions of people who already use the Bay Run each year, it’s shaping up to be a pretty significant glow-up.

Here’s what’s changing.

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• What’s Included In The Callan Park Master Plan
• When The Callan Park Tidal Baths Will Open
• New Open Space And Park Upgrades In The Inner West
• What It Means For The Bay Run And Local Community

What’s Included In The Callan Park Master Plan

Image Credit Mike Higginbottom

Work is now underway at Callan Park, backed by a $6.8 million investment from the Minns Labor Government and an additional $1.8 million from Inner West Council to deliver the new tidal baths.

The project is focused on unlocking parts of the park that have long sat behind fencing, improving how visitors move through and use the space.

Key priorities include:

• Delivering a new tidal bath on the Iron Cove foreshore
• Demolishing nine unsafe, long-derelict buildings
• Returning the equivalent of two football fields of green space to public use
• Transforming a vacant heritage building into a new clubhouse for the Balmain & District Football Club

The upgrades sit alongside the Greater Sydney Parklands Trust Amendment (Review) Bill 2026, which still needs to pass the Legislative Council. The bill is aimed at improving services and facilities for park users and supporting the long-term financial sustainability of Greater Sydney Parklands, including allowing for activations like cafes in vacant buildings across the park.

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When The Callan Park Tidal Baths Will Open

Image Credit: Inner West Council

The highly anticipated Callan Park tidal bath is now under construction, with the new swim spot expected to open in time for summer 2026.

Located along the popular Bay Run and close to sports fields including Leichhardt Oval and King George Park, the tidal bath is designed to make the most of its foreshore setting on Iron Cove. The design includes:

• An accessible pathway and ramp
• A generous fixed jetty and pontoon
• Shark net protection within the swim zone

The baths will form part of a broader push to improve access to the Parramatta River and create more safe, everyday swimming spots across Sydney.

New Open Space And Park Upgrades In The Inner West

Image Credit: Inner West Council

Beyond the new swim spot, demolition work has swung into action to remove nine unsafe buildings that had sat neglected, cordoned off and vandalised for years.

Clearing these buildings will unlock central parts of Callan Park, delivering the equivalent of two football fields of green space back to free community use. This work is expected to be complete by late 2026.

Elsewhere in the park, one of the long-vacant buildings is being transformed into a new clubhouse for the Balmain & District Football Club, giving the local sporting community a long-awaited home base.

What It Means For The Bay Run And Local Community

Callan Park already attracts more than 2.4 million visitors a year, drawing walkers, joggers, cyclists, swimmers and families to the Bay Run and surrounding parkland. With the local population expected to grow to 415,000 by 2041, these upgrades are designed to help the park keep pace with demand.

Passage of the Greater Sydney Parklands Trust Amendment Bill would also open the door to broader change, allowing vacant buildings across the park to be activated rather than left to decline, and paving the way for more parkland to be added to the Greater Sydney Parklands estate over time, extending access to high-quality green space across Sydney, the Central Coast and Wollongong.

Over the next few years, Callan Park is set to become a more open, accessible and active public space, while holding onto its status as one of the Inner West's most loved green escapes.

Main Image Credit: Inner West Council